SortaCrunchy

A Word of Caution on Getting "Caught Up" on Vaccines

I find I am constantly humbled by the emails from parents who take the time to share their questions and experiences with vaccines with me. Obviously, I am far from being an expert of any kind of anything. I'm just a mom who feels passionately about vaccine information and choices.

Several times in the past month, I've heard from readers on the topic of getting their little ones "caught up" on their vaccine schedules. Upon discovering patients who are behind on their vaccination schedules, pediatricians will sometimes encourage parents to consent to getting their children caught up to the mandated schedule, even if that means a child receiving a large number of vaccines all in one office visit.

I want to emphasize that unless you have some extenuating circumstances (for example, an impending trip out of the country), there is probably no need for your child to get "caught up" all at once.

A reader emailed me her experience last week, and she has given me permission to share part of her family's story here:

I too am barefoot all the time. I was born in a lookout tower for firefighters, just my mom, dad and a friend were there to help. I was blessed to grow up and be a healthy woman. Somehow, I was fooled.

I vaccinated our first son, and he is completely fine. But our second son fell behind on his shots. He was given 7 at once to make up for this. The date was 12-21-05. On the way home from the doctor he became very sick. Within a few hours he had stopped breathing and was on a helicopter bound for children's hospital in Portland Oregon. He was sick for about a week and they let us go home. We noticed at the hospital that "C" was not speaking. After going from a fairly chatty one year old, he had become withdrawn.

I know that you know what I am going to say next. Yes. Six months later we were told that "C" was severely autistic. As I look back now, I realize that everything I was raised to believe by my parent hadn't saved my son. He spins, pokes his eyes until they are black and blue, he is bald in spots from pulling his hair out, he can't run, he can walk but with assistance, he is non-verbal, he hasn't smiled in 2 and a half years. My son is gone. In reality, I go through the motions, we make it through everyday with schedules, and appointments, kisses he doesn't want, and hugs he hates. But when the night comes, that is when the hard stuff happens. I watch him sleep and he looks normal, I see him smile in his sleep, and I wish I knew if he was dreaming of me. I cry, my husband and I hold each other and we wonder how we let this happen . . .

It may well be that there are some babies and toddlers who receive many vaccines in one office visit and their bodies are able to handle it. But experiences like this mother's compel me to encourage parents to allow no more than two vaccination doses to be administered in the span of one month's time. Your pediatrician/health care provider may cite CDC warnings like this one indicating your baby/toddler will be at risk as long as he/she is behind on the schedule. They are advocating what they sincerely believe to be a safe approach to your child's wellness and public health in general. Just remember you alone are able to advocate for your child's health and well-being!

Again, I must make it clear I am far from being a medical professional or expert of any kind. This is my opinion only, but I hope you will receive the word of caution in this mother's story.

(In a SortaCrunchy first, I am closing comments on this post. It is not my intention to debate the connection between vaccines and autism. Additionally, I feel a strong desire to protect this reader who was courageous in sharing her family's story and not open her up to any unnecessary and painful criticisms. Thanks for understanding!)

Soapbox Alert: On approaches to vaccinations

Last Friday, the New York Times published a little one page article titled "Public Health Risk Seen as Parents Reject Vaccines."  I read the article and wasn't really surprised by the way Ms. Steinhauer reported on this hot-button topic.  Typical mainstream coverage of those who are making alternative vaccine choices . . . implying that we "skeptics" are sending your babies to the hospitals with measles and selfishly taking advantage of personal-belief exemptions to protect our own children from the dangers of immunizations.  You know, just the usual mainstream party line.  Whatever. 

What I found much more disturbing than the article are the comments.  Those who choose not to vaccinate their children are accused of everything from being  hysterical kooks who base their parenting decisions on something they read on the internet (at best) to, far more frighteningly, child-abusing murderers whose children should be taken away from them.  These comments are quite chilling.

I learned a long time ago it's better not to make a habit of being defensive of parenting decisions.  In the realm of vaccine discussion and debate, however, I think it behooves those of us who make alternative decisions to prepare ourselves with the best research we can find just in case this backlash against non-vaccinators triggers an outcry towards revoking exemptions or, worse yet, a demand for forced vaccinations that reaches Orwellian proportions.

The thing is,  some of us have something far more telling than medical literature causing us to give great thought to vaccine choices.  In 1985, my youngest sister received the MMR shot at 15 months of age.  A week later, a series of grand mal seizures began that forever changed the course of my sister's life.  Although she eventually outgrew the epilepsy, she will forever be affected by Asperger Syndrome.  Acting on her behalf, my parents took part in a class-action lawsuit involving the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.  The federal government settled the claim out of court.  My sister (now nearly twenty-five) has a healthy trust operating on her behalf funded by that settlement.

What I find ironic is that many of those comments accuse those who make alternative vaccine choices as being uneducated on public health issues or of basing their parenting choices on a Google search.  In reality, most everyone I know (both online and offline) who has made choices that stray from the CDC mandated schedule are parents who have invested a great deal of time into research and reading real, documented, not magical, not made-up, published studies and perspectives.  I would go so far as to say that the average non-vax'ing-parent or delayed/selective-vax'ing parent knows more about the vaccine debate than the average vax-on-schedule parent.  And I say that speaking from my own experience with D.  I did absolutely zero reading or research on vaccine information with her.  It wasn't until she was nearly two years old that I began to do any research into the topic.  If it weren't for my unique family history, I cannot say that I would have ever given the subject a second thought.

Although I don't talk about it as often as I should, vaccine information advocacy is one of the topics I feel most strongly about.  If nothing else, I just desperately want every parent to know that just because the CDC and Big Pharm have a herd immunity plan in place doesn't mean you have to do what they tell you to do. 

And there's a sorta happy medium to be discovered in delayed vaccination scheduling. 

(Dare I ask?) 

Thoughts?

   

Our Delayed Vaccination Schedule

IMPORTANT UPDATE AS OF APRIL 20th, 2008

This month, I finally purchased Dr. Bob Sears' The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child. I can say with absolute confidence this is a book every parent should have in their library. It is decidedly pro-vaccine, so if you tend to lean towards not vaccinating, it may cause you some concern. But if even you are not vaccinating your children, this book may give you some insights into the decision-making process of parents who do vaccinate. If you tend to lean towards vaccinating but have concerns over the CDC schedule and/or vaccine ingredients, I believe you will find this book to be immensely helpful.

Having said that, I am updating our original selective/delayed vaccine schedule below based on what I now know having read The Vaccine Book. For example, I did not realize that now (2008) all the major vaccines are now mercury-free. (There is still trace amounts of mercury in some brands of the flu shot.) Therefore, I have removed the "mercury-free" label that I had put in front of each of vaccine names. Additionally, I am switching the order of the measles and mumps vaccines. Originally, I had measles at 15 months and mumps at 39 months. Now, I will do mumps at 15 months and measles at 39 months. I still feel comfortable with delaying the Prevnar (Pc) vaccine, but please bear in mind that my babies are exclusively breastfed and not in group daycare situations. Dr. Sears feels that young babies should be receiving this vaccine, so please remember that your circumstances may warrant this one earlier than I have it scheduled.

I have received so many emails and comments from parents who are trying to make this hugely important decision for their children. I appreciate each email and comment and try to respond quickly and accurately as often as possible. I want to stress that this schedule is one that is best for our family, for my child. Every family has a unique set of circumstances that are made up of your family's medical history, your geographic location, and your access to doctors (and evidently, insurance coverages) that are open to alternate approaches to vaccines. All of that is to say that while my schedule may be a good starting point for you in creating your own schedule, please know that it is by no means a definitive selective/delayed schedule. You alone can make the best choice for your child.

************************************************************************************ 

This morning, I took AJ in for a well-baby check, and it reminded me that this might be a good time to share the delayed vaccination schedule we have come up with for her. This schedule is based on Dr. Stephanie Cave's What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations (shout out to my friend KM for passing this on to me!!).

Here is our schedule:

Hep B
Delay until the year before starting school, although we may consider starting the series as early as two and half if we are considering preschool at the time.

Hib
4 mo, 6 mo, 8 mo, 17 mo

IPV
4 mo, 6 mo, 8 mo, 17 mo (booster at 4 years)

DtaP
5 mo, 7 mo, 9 mo, 15 or 18 mo (booster at 4 years)

Pneumococcal (PREVNAR)one dose at age 2

Varicela (Varivax)
Age four, if at all

MMR
Mumps – 15 mo
Rubella – 27 mo
Measles – 39 mo
Booster – age 5

Now, some physicians will tell you that you cannot get the MMR separated. This was a huge area of concern for me as my youngest sister had a reaction to the MMR vaccine that resulted in her having both epilepsy (now outgrown) and Asperger Syndrome. I did just a little digging in the Delayed Vaccinations forum at MDC, and found this information:

Dr. Stephanie Cave is an advocate for children being immunized with three separate doses instead of the MMR combined. Reportedly, she asked for American Medicine (wholesale pharmaceutical company) to carry these immunizations. The owners of American Medicine are Mark and Bridgette Schexnayder who are also pharmacists.

The pharmaceutical company of these three separate immunizations is Merck.

American Medicine will need the following from your doctor:
Doctor’s prescription with the child’s name
Copy of Doctor’s license
Have your doctor fax this to 225-924-0249.

You will then pay American Medicine (225-924-0247) and they will overnight the immunizations to your doctor. You will have to pay the overnight shipping fee due to the medicine needing to be refrigerated.

Make sure you ask for the expiration dates so that you will know ahead of time and for your records.

September 2007- Cost is appx. $119 (for all 3) plus shipping/handling (+-$20.)

I called the company and talked to Bridgette Schexnayder today. She said the $119 is for all three vaccinations which they overnight to your doctor's office at one time. She said the vaccines are currently on backorder, but they should be receiving a new shipment next month (Dec 07). She also said the vaccines will have about eighteen months until they expire. If that is the case, we will have to reevaluate and adjust when AJ gets each of these three vaccines as I currently have them spaced over a longer time period than eighteen months.

Another MDC member posted that Johnson Drug will also send you the separate vaccines. I have not personally contacted them to verify this information, but I wanted to share it as well. This MDC member stated that to order from Johnson Drug, you need a prescription from your pediatrician and to expect to pay about $40 per vaccine.

Anyone else have a delayed vaccination schedule you want to share? I would love to read what other people are choosing. Post in the comments or share it on your blog and let me know so I can check it out!

READ THIS POST IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM ON MY OLD BLOGGER SITE - COMPLETE WITH ALL COMMENTS!

And so she made some lists . . .

Seth Godin recently wrote that "the mistake most blogs and books make: they are about the writer, not the reader."

Last month, I shared with you that I try to keep my audience in mind as I write and post here at SortaCrunchy.

But today I am going to be selfish and post some totally me-centered stuff just because I big fat want to. So feel free to skim on by if you feel so led, but I do want to say I am posting this publicly because I welcome advice and feedback and suggestions!

We are now staring down the barrel of less than one month until Little Sister's delivery. (Scheduled c-section date is September 5th.) As I panicked mulled this over yesterday, I found it very theraputic to make some lists. Helps me feel a little more, oh I don't know, centered? In control? It at leasts organizes my thoughts and helps me break free of this pervasive sense of denial which hounds me . . . denial that in less than one short calendar month, the SortaCrunchy family will be a Party of Four.

Humor me.

TO DO:

* wash and sort all of Little Sister's diapers
* figure out some kind of organizing solution for the cloth diapers that are slowly taking over the nursery (D's and LS's combined)
* find all the parts to my trusty hand pump and figure out what parts need to be replaced
* make appointment with our pediatrician to go over delayed vax schedule
* go over birth plan choices with my OB and clarify what hospital procedures will allow for (Can I have one arm unstrapped to hold her for a minute after she is delivered? Can she be with me in recovery? these kinds of things . . .)
* write thank you notes from LS's shower
* wash newborn clothes
* get a haircut
* pack hospital bag

TO BUY:

* more infant prefolds and small covers
* button-front pj's for Mama for the hospital and home
* at least one more decent nursing bra
* Lansinoh
* breast pads - cloth or disposable? Would love to hear feedback on what worked for you!
* more post-partum pads
* snacks for the hospital bag
* Mei Tai? Which one? I am to the point of having anxiety dreams over this one. Of course, I want an uber-cool, uber-chic BabyHawk, but the Budget Mistress within is balking at the price tag. But a Mei Tai will definitely take us through toddlerhood, isn't it worth the investment? But couldn't I find a fully functional Mei Tai for less somewhere? And so goes the circles of debate in my mind. DEFINITELY open to feedback on this one, mamas!

And so that's that. For now. Thanks for bearing with my all about Megan indulgence.

Labels: baby

SortaWhat? Part Two

Wow, I will tell you what . . . There is nothing like being out of town for the better part of a week to allow a mama to see how much she does around the house on a daily basis! D and I got home Friday night and I am just now climbing out from under the piles of laundry and dust bunnies.

(And on that note, I am so terribly, TERRIBLY behind on my blog reading. Reading the blogs of both my friends and the amazing women whom I have "met" in the blogosphere is such an important part of my day. I am suffering from tremendous blogger guilt and frustration in not being able to read and comment as much as I would like to, and Google Reader is just taunting me by reminding me I have 100+ posts to peruse! Anyway, soon and very soon I will be back in the swing of things.)

So to continue the conversation on why I choose to identify myself as "sort of" crunchy (yep, Katherine, as in granola-y . . . mmmmmmm, granola . . .), I am just going to outline the natural family living (NFL for short, but not the kind of NFL your man wants you to appreciate) practices that are an important part of my life.

Natural Family Living Philosophies/Beliefs I practice:

* child-led weaning
I used to say "extended breastfeeding," but I have taken a step away from that term for now. Breastfeeding advocacy is very important to me, but at the same time, I want to emphasize that I believe in a mutual weaning process. I have friends online and in my community whose babies simply would have nothing more to do with the breast after nine months or six months or some age earlier than a year old. In these cases, the breastfeeding mother would have loved to have practiced "extended breastfeeding" (general term for breastfeeding past a year), but saw the need to balance her desire to breastfeed with her desire to respect and follow her baby's desires.

I found that Kellymom was a great place to start in researching common questions and concerns regarding breastfeeding past infancy.

* cloth diapering
I have a ton of posts about cloth diapering which you could easily access through my Blogger tags. When it comes down to it, I love cloth diapering because I think it is best for the environment, best for baby's skin, and definitely best in overall cuteness. :)

* babywearing
Although that particular "label" may be new to some, the art of wearing a baby is as old as time. You've no doubt seen mainstream versions of babywearing in the form of Baby Bjorn and New Native carriers, but those carriers are just the very tippy-top of the babywearing iceberg.

I had toyed with idea of buying a carrier before D was born; I had no idea the high-needs baby about to be delivered to me would make it a necessity rather than luxury to have some kind of device by which to keep her on me for the majority of the day. I have worn D in ring slings, pouch slings, Mei Teis (Asian Baby Carriers), and my personal favorite for toddlerhood - the Ergo.

TheBabywearer.Com offers a vast array of babywearing information. These articles say it all much better than I ever could!

* emphasis on whole foods (organic when possible)
I feel guilty even mentioning this because pregnancy triggers within me non-stop cravings for junk! and sugar! and junk! and comfort foods! and junk!

But in my normal, non-pregnant life, I try to make the healthiest cooking and eating choices available to me and my family. Last summer, The Coach and I went vegetarian for a while and really enjoyed the change. D is a born vegetarian (seriously, the only meat the child will eat is turkey lunch meat and corn dogs from Sonic *red-face*). We love to shop the local farmers' market and are thankful we don't live near enough to a Whole Foods Market to shop there because we manage to spend astronomical amounts of money on each visit to that holy mecca.

* shared sleep (co-sleeping)
EDITED - It wasn't until I went upstairs to lay down with D for a nap that I remembered that we also practice shared sleep!
We never intended to be co-sleepers, but again, it was one of those things that just sort of happened. Now I cannot wait for Little Sister to be here so we can snuggle a wee one between us in bed again. Big Sister sleeps in her crib full-time now (well, with the rare exception - like last night when a bad dream awakened her and her daddy said, "Just let her sleep with us . . ."), so I miss that snuggle time at night.

The Sears site has some great information (including VERY important safety tips) on co-sleeping.

* Attachment Parenting
One need not practice NFL in order to practice Attachment Parenting, but by and large, the same parents who are drawn to natural living also find they connect with the Attachment Parenting philosophy. I will not try to reinvent the wheel here on what AP is. A great deal of information is available at askdrsears.com including What Attachment Parenting Is and What It Is Not. Some time ago, I also shared how it came to be that Attachment Parenting chose me.

Natural Family Living Philosophies/Beliefs I Do Not Practice (or Why I Am Not One Hundred Percent Crunchy)

At this point in time, we believe we are led to send our children to public schools. There are many in the NFL community who choose to homeschool for a variety of reasons. The Coach and I feel a special call to have our children in public schools, but we are open to whatever God leads us to do at any given time for any of our children.

Also at this time, if we are blessed with a son, we will choose to have him circumcised. This is very unusual in the NFL community as a whole, but it is an issue about which The Coach holds strong feelings and I am at peace in following his leadership in this area.

D has been vaccinated on schedule. You will find many families who practice natural living choose not to vaccinate their children. After much discussion and thoughtful consideration, we feel vaccinating is a good choice for us at this time. The two of us are currently in negotiations over whether or not Little Sister will be vaxed on schedule. I would like to follow a delayed vax schedule, but that is not set in stone yet.

Finally, as I have recently talked about, I am choosing an elective repeat c-section for Little Sister's delivery. As much as I fully support and strongly believe in the beauty and power of a natural vaginal delivery, there are factors that complicate and muddy my situation that have turned what could be a black-and-white issue into a big gray area for me.

So there ya have it! A fairly concise picture of me straddling the fence between crunchy and mainstream. Thankfully I am not posting an actual picture of me straddling anything! My big ol' pregnant self does not need to be shown straddling anything at this moment in time.

That reminds me, I think I owe ya'll a belly shot . . . no fences. I promise.

Labels: babywearing, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, food, general natural family living